Friday, June 23, 2023

Summer Begins

 True summer, after the solstice, has arrived.  My weather hasn't figured that out yet, though.  We are having rain and clouds around here.  Although the day is cloudy, I choose to find sunshine in my day.  One way is to write my Friday Fave Fives and join other people virtually in sharing five blessings from the past week.

1.  Yes, I am thankful that the days are longer!

2.  Younger Daughter hosts a fiber arts get together once a month---third Saturday morning.  We meet at a local coffee shop.  This month we had two young girls attend with their mom.  I think the total number of people was ten?  I love meeting and knitting with like minded people.

3.  We did TWO hikes this week!  On Monday, The Professor, Younger Daughter and I drove north to the town of Mt. Vernon and enjoyed a strenuous  hike in a forest preserve and then a walk along the river.  Then Tuesday evening, we joined the boys from Trail Life on a nature hike in the Spring Valley Preserve.  While we didn't hike much more than a mile, we crossed that creek numerous times.  I am thankful we have the energy to do these hikes.






4.  Time with friends.  Morning coffee with T and S.  Evening dinner with friends from my Bible Study group.  Those are times I cherish.

5.  I love when someone drops an encouraging or 'to the point' comment in conversation.  This morning while I was in a zoom meeting with my "Art Girls" friends, these comments hit me:  "Outer order, inner calm."  "Relationships over arrangements."  Both are excellent reminders.

Let us always remember to stop and enjoy the moments of quiet and rest in our busy lives.

12 comments:

marina said...

wonderful pictures of your hike!

Barbara H. said...

I'm always glad when we get past the summer solstice, knowing the days will start shortening a little. I don't like it dark at 5 p.m. in the winter--but being light at nearly 10 makes it hard for me to wind down in the evenings. I love it when the sun goes down around 9.

Sounds like you had several great get-togethers.

Faith said...

I LOVE the evenings of June...staying light around here in eastern NY until about 9:15 pm. I just love love love it. We are supposed to get rain here tomorrow but we really could use it so I canceled my first day of retirement hike and will wait until Monday.

It sounds like you had a great week full of good blessings. LOVE the hiking/woods photos!!

HAPPY WEEKEND

Wendy said...

Sounds like a fun hike and some good meet ups in your week. Hope the weather improves and you enjoy the weekend.

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Amen to your last comment. And I loved the pictures of the places you were able to walk. So lovely! I hope you are having some nice summer weather. I loved Ohio in the summertime when we lived there, and even more so in the fall! Spring was nice too, but winter was sometimes challenging! I am thankful I don't have to deal with winter weather down here, but I do miss the other changes of seasons. Enjoy it for me! Have a blessed weekend.

nikkipolani said...

So pleased to hear you are able to participate in that strenuous hike after your injury.

Yes, moments of quiet and rest are so needed.

Susan said...

Hi Willow, I love the pictures of the woods that you posted. There is nothing like that around here like that. There is a park around 15 miles from us that has large trees and I lake. We hope to go there next week. We have had great weather here so far, mid-high 70's. But it will get hot by next month! I am going on vacation in August to Grants Pass Oregon. I hope it will be warm because we will be playing in the Rogue River. Happy Summer!

Deb J. in Utah said...

Hi Willow! I love the pictures from your hikes. Beautiful! So glad you had a good week. I love those quotes at the end of this post. Have a good weekend!

ellen b. said...

Judging from your more strenuous hikes that foot is all better! It is good to be able to walk and hike and be active! Happy summer to you!

aspiritofsimplicity said...

Oh I love Outer order inner calm. As a Montessori teacher that really speaks to me.

Karen said...

Oh, I love the comments in your #5. Thank you for sharing!

To your question about hummingbirds - I personally haven't noticed fewer. But, it's interesting to hear others talk about changes around their feeders from year to year. We had a very cold winter here, so we had some unusual birds migrating through in large numbers, looking for food here because previous migration paths were lacking food. Someone in my bird group mentioned that natural events like hurricanes can also sometimes cause birds to change course. I haven't heard that hummingbirds are declining in number, but I suppose that's possible, too!

Susanne said...

The hike looks lovely. You've got lots of green over there. Glad your foot held up for it!
How fun there was new attendees to your group.